Zogby reports that McCain’s insulting selection of Sarah Palin has given his campaign a bounce back up to equivalency with Obama’s. But Slate reports that Obama continues to lead in the right states, so that his electoral count remains strong.

I do not understand America. Seriously. Never have. Apparently I never will.

12 Responses to “America loves the wildly unqualified Palin. But the electoral college is holding fast.”

Not only a gun, but she’s anti-choice, against stem cell research, thinks creationism should be taught in schools, and doesn’t believe humans are contributing to global warming.

It’s truly frightening how many unthinking, uneducated voters we have who rely on the “authority” of religious leaders to make decisions for them. The really disheartening part is that many, actually most, of such voters are well-intentioned people who actually think they are acting for the best. It is so easy for Republicans to manipulate them, as Rove and his disciples know so well.

Here in northwest Florida, I meet this kind of voter all the time, but I’m really heartened by how many Obama supporters are pushing back by getting involved in his campaign.

“Umm, if Palin is unqualified, what does that make Obama?” – Intelligent, an effective public speaker, a grass roots organizer, a deeply concerned citizen. I would propose that potential leadership ability might be more important in this election than proven experience. Obama has more proven intellectual ability as evidenced in his academic record. He has also been involved in National politics for a longer period of time. Palin is indeed a committed local citizen. Do we need a local politician or a national politician at this time? Arguing policy differences and debating ideas is an interesting and vital intellectual exercise that probably will not change either your or my beliefs about abortion or gun control. The most important aspect of this election is leadership. At this crucial turning point in our Nation’s history, we desperately need a committed leader who will listen to WE the people, who will uphold the Constitution, and who will be respected by other countries and world leaders. Obama is no celebrity. He draws crowds both in Europe and Denver based upon his vision, his charisma, and his character. Not just George Bush but the republican party has failed the American People. We cannot return to the failed and preferential politics of a republican administration. I agree with David. When you look at the polls he noted, you notice that McCain is highly favored among voters who shop at WallMart. I lost my faith in the intelligence of the American public in 1972 when Nixon was overwhelmingly chosen as president. I felt overwhelmingly saddened that the American people could not see the direction this flawed leader would take. I feel the same today with the credentials and abilities of the republican candidates. Obama is an intelligent leader who will proficiently learn and quickly gain any experience he may now lack. As the hurricane tracks toward New Orleans, everyone must not forget the abysmal failure of republican leadership three years ago. This election is about leadership. The issues may not have changed, but the leadership of our country must.

He’s an effective public speaker when he has a teleprompter. Have you ever watched him without one? He’s awful off the cuff, just awful.

As to leadership, get back to me with a list of bills he’s sponsored – you’ll note it’s a really, really thin list. Go look for any meetings he’s chaired since 2006 at the committee he heads in the senate. Oops – not a single one.

Find me anywhere that he’s ever had differences with his own party. Whoops – none of that, either

In the leadership category, he’s untested – at best. Personally, I think he’s mostly an abject follower with poor speaking skills (based on his utter inability to handle off the cuff discussions).

‘get back to me with a list of bills heâ€™s sponsored’ – Obama has been described to have sponsored “131 bills since Jan 4, 2005,” of which 90% (118 bills) remain in committee (Average) and 2% (2 bills) have been enacted into law (Average, relative to peers).[2] These figures do not include bills to which Obama contributed very substantially as cosponsor, such as the Coburn-Obama Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 or the Lugar-Obama Cooperative Proliferation Detection, Interdiction Assistance, and Conventional Threat Reduction Act of 2006, which were formally sponsored by Senators Coburn and Lugar, respectively. They also exclude amendments to other bills, although these in the Senate are not required to be germane to the parent bill and can therefore effectively be bills in their own right.[3] Obama has co-sponsored 619 bills during the same time period (Average, relative to peers).[2]

‘Go look for any meetings heâ€™s chaired since 2006 at the committee he heads in the senate.’ – The subcommittee is chaired by Democrat Barack Obama of Illinois, and the Ranking Minority member is Republican Jim DeMint of South Carolina. The subcommittee has not met since the appointment of Senator Obama as chairman, because Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the full Foreign Relations committee, has been holding those hearings himself.[1]
Majority
Member State
Barack Obama, Chairman Illinois
Christopher Dodd Connecticut
Bob Menendez New Jersey
Ben Cardin Maryland
Bob Casey Pennsylvania
Joe Biden, Ex-Officio Delaware

Well, I think it’s really funny that the conservative republicans want to elect McCain because they can trust him more for in a war. Can they be equally as trusting of Palin when she becomes president? Ha ha. These are those same republicans that we are talking about here. They will have to eat whatever it is they are dishing out to us. This is really funny.